Gang Violence

The street gang has become an ever-growing fixture of American society, and ever more popular with the youth of today, even being venerated in popular music, television, and films. One such street gang that has been held to such esteem and adulation is the street gang The Crips. The gang the Crips has grown an archetype of what people think when they think of a gang or gangster, but even though they may picture the stereotypical gangster, the Crips are much more. What brings about a gang like the Crips, what are their beliefs, what is their hierarchy, are there leaders like the Mafia did, or are they more disjointed, do they earn their money exclusively through drugs or do they venture out into other areas. These are questions wondered by many and hopefully many of these will be answered in the course of this paper.

In the spring of 1971, then seventeen year-old Stanley Williams was approached Raymond Washington, at Washington Preparatory High School. Raymond Washington haled from the East Side of South Central Los Angeles, Williams resided on the West Side of that area. A mutual associate of these young men informed Washington of Williams' toughness and of his willingness to fight members of the larger, well-established street gangs that where currently residing in their areas. According to an account by Williams' regarding his initial meeting with Washington, what struck him about Washington was, besides being very muscular, Washington and his friends dressed very similar to Williams and his crew, the dress consisted of leather jackets and starched Levi jeans with suspenders. (Williams, 2008) They formed a partnership with their two groups calling themselves the Cribs, this was later changed to the Crips

The Crips originally started as a means to stand up against the other bigger gangs in the area, and the founder’s beliefs very closely modeled that of the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement. (Barnhart, 03/2) The gang wanted to act at community protectors and wanted to act as community leaders and to protect their local neighborhoods and unite their community. These ideologies, their revolutionary aspirations, and their desire to further their agenda of social change never did come about to fruition and they instead became muddled in fights to protect themselves from other gangs in their own community. (Barnhart, 03/2)

Though the Crips gang is now a less unified single gang, they did, one have a more cohesive leadership and structured hierarchy. The Crips original leaders where Stanley “Tookie” Washington and Raymond Washington, these people came together and leaded the Westside and Eastside Crips respectively. This identifiable leadership ended in 1979 when Raymond Washington was shot and killed in a still undefined murder. Also during this time Stanley “Tookie” Washington was arrested and convicted of murder and sent to life in prison. Since their leaders were killed and locked up the Crips